It is 11 days since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in the night and investigators appear no closer to knowing the fate of the passengers and crew on board.
The names of the 239 people currently missing are listed in black and white in the plane's manifest. But we look at who those people who were on the flight.
There were 14 different nationalities among the 227 passengers and 12 crew travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, although the majority - 153 in all - were Chinese.
Other passengers came from the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Iran, Australia, India, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and the Netherlands. The youngest is just two years old, the oldest 76. Seven of the passengers are children, five of whom are yet to see their fifth birthdays.
On board the plane were sons, daughters, husbands, wives and grandparents. Some were embarking on a new start, others returning home.
The honeymooners
They included a famous stunt man, engineers, artists, Buddhist pilgrims, students, holiday-makers and honeymooners. Muktesh Mukherjee and Bai Xiaomo were heading home to Beijing after a beach holiday in Vietnam.
Ms. Bai (37) had posted pictures of their break shortly before boarding the flight. The couple's two young sons were waiting for them at home with Ms. Bai's mother.
Mr. Muktesh (42) - an Indian-born Canadian employed by US firm XCoal - met his wife while on a business trip to China in 2002. They lived in Montreal before moving to Beijing.
The Hollywood stuntman
Ju Kun's kung-fu moves have featured in films such as 'Fearless', where he doubled for martial arts actor Jet Li, and 'The Expendables'.
Kun (35) was travelling to Beijing to see his two young children before starting work on the new Netflix and Weinstein Company series 'Marco Polo' in Malaysia.
In a statement, Weinstein said "He was an integral part of our production team and a tremendous talent. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time".
Teenage getaway
French students Hadrien Wattrelos (17) and Zhao Yan (18) were heading for school in Beijing. They had enrolled themselves in the Lycee Francais International de Pekin, also known as the French School.
Hadrien posted a picture of himself and Ms. Zhao on a social media site, accompanied with the phrase: "Je t'aime". Ms. Zhao replied: "Haaaaaa mon amour, trooooop mignon".
Two other passengers on the flight, Laurence Wattrelos (52) and Ambre Wattrelos (14) are believed to be Hadrien's mother and sister.
Yue Wenchao (26) is originally from inner Mongolia but had moved to Britain to study a postgraduate course at the University of Hull Business School. He was flying to Kuala Lumpur to visit his girlfriend.
In one of his last posts on a social media site on March 7th, he wrote next to a photo of her "See u in Beijing!"
Paul Weeks, a mechanical engineer, left his wedding ring and watch at home when he headed to Mongolia for a work trip. The devoted father instructed his wife, Danica, to pass them on to his two sons, 3-year-old Lincoln and 10-month-old Jack, "should anything happen".
Danica, who lives in Perth, Australia, says the hardest part of the ordeal is explaining Paul's absence to their two children.
The Australian travel-lovers
Bob and Cathy Lawton loved to travel. The couple, who are in their fifties and from Springfield Lakes, Australia, are parents to three daughters, as well as doting grandparents.
Cathy's last Facebook post before embarking on their latest adventure read "Off to China".
While Hu Xiaoning (34) was travelling home to Beijing with his 3-year-old daughter Hu Siwan. Proud mum Zhang Na has been an active user of China's microblogging site Weibo, regularly posting family photos.
